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Alex Kennedy: Steve Nash just summed up the problem with the Los Angeles Lakers in five words: "We don't have an identity." Twitter @AlexKennedyNBA

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash 

His 8-year-old twin girls, Lola and Bella, and 2-year-old son, Matteo, live with their mother in Phoenix, so Nash routinely takes the 80-minute flight to see them on Lakers off days or has them come his way. The latest Lakers drama, whatever it might be, is always kept in proper perspective. "Ten out of 10 times, I make the same decision again," Nash told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. "I've gotten to see my kids probably four times as much as I'd seen them if I'd have gone back East. That's first and foremost. Second of all, it's a great experience to play for the Lakers organization. ... I'm happy here. "I'm beyond playing for the credit or the adulation. I feel secure in myself as a player. I just want to help this team, regardless of what it means for me personally." USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash 

The personal component, Duffy says, nearly brought Nash's career to an end. "If L.A. wouldn't have worked, I honestly think he would've considered retiring," Duffy says. "He said that three or four times from July 1 to July 5 (during free agency), and I was saying, 'If he wants to retire, I have to respect it, but let's piece this thing together so you can get what you want and continue to play.' " USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash 

The reason the Mavs didn’t re-sign point guard Steve Nash when he became a free agent on July 1, 2004, was because Mark Cuban said all the medical information he received was that Nash was basically done. “Obviously it was wrong, but that was the information I had,” Cuban said Sunday. “We didn’t even know what gluten-free diets were back then. “That’s what everybody told us, and that was one of the reasons we really picked things up in terms of what we did in medical information so we don’t make mistakes like that again.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Trade, Steve Nash, Mark Cuban 

Mike Trudell: Explanation for Nash’s rare off shooting night (2 for 11): he tweaked his back in the 1st Q and had no mobility. Twitter @LakersReporter

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Injuries 

Steve Nash, Mike D'Antoni and Dwight Howard stood behind Kobe Bryant's guarantee that the Los Angeles Lakers will make the playoffs and be a factor when they get there. "That's great," Nash said on Friday. "You love it when your best player has that confidence and that challenge. In a way, he's put it out for us to go get now." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash 

At Thursday's memorial service for Jerry Buss, who died on Monday, Bryant also encouraged his teammates to look at the players and coaches in the room and make the most of this season in the memory of the former Lakers owner. "It would be great if we could use that as motivation," Nash said. "I'd like to think that regardless of Dr. Buss passing that we'd have the toughness to find it in ourselves to rally. It's been a tough year obviously, and trying, but we've made some progress and we have to continue to make progress the rest of the way. It would be a beautiful thing to do it for Dr. Buss." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Jerry Buss 

Say what you want about D'Antoni, but at least he has a way of saying things that are brutally honest sometimes ... "If he goes one-on-one and tries to play an 'And-1' kind of game, then he is very normal or bad," Mike D'Antoni said, describing Steve Nash on Wednesday. The coach wasn't taking a dig at his point guard. He was stating what he believes to be fact. But he praised Nash in the next breath. "I don't think he's lost anything ... I know it's easy to say he's 39 and whatever; I don't see it. I just think we haven't played well and it's hurt his game." Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Mike D'Antoni 

Mike Trudell: D’Antoni called @SteveNash - who passed Magic in assists tonight - “incredible.” He “mastered the fundamentals,” was completely self made. Twitter @LakersReporter

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Magic Johnson 

Bryant is not alone in his concern, sources say. Nash, Pau Gasol and several others also seem fairly uneasy about Howard's commitment to the cause. According to sources, a number of Lakers have their doubts about whether Howard takes the game seriously and "wants it" enough for the challenges the team now faces. FOXSports Ohio

Los Angeles Lakers, Trade, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard 

He did his talking on floor in a game Thursday, the night the SI profile came out, when he scored 57 points on 28 shots. It was the kind of showing that proved that behind a humble exterior lies the fire the great ones need. "That's going to happen to him," Steve Nash said to me the other day as the Los Angeles Lakers star put his Canada Basketball general managers hat on for a moment. "He's going to face criticism or controversy and whether it's fair or not doesn't matter, it's all in the way he responds. Thus far in his career he's been brilliant in rising to the challenge. For his age, it's phenomenal to see him respond like that." Or, as Wiggins himself put it Sunday: "Those words (from critics) mean nothing to me. They're not going to help me in the long-run." SportsNet

Los Angeles Lakers, Draft, Steve Nash, Andrew Wiggins 

Deron and I have actually known each other for a little bit. We met at an All-Star Game a couple of years ago. I was out partying one night, and here he comes into the club with a whole crew of guys. It was a Nike party in L.A. two years ago, and so he comes with his crew, and there's no room in the entire thing. We had a little room, and so his whole crew starts talking to us and shoves their way into our table. We had an awesome night that night. We had a blast. Kanye West was onstage — Kanyeezy! Was that the same party where your old friend Steve Nash got a lap dance from Nicki Minaj? [Laughs] Nah, that was at a different party. So I've had Deron's number since then, and we were texting sometimes. And he knew I wanted him to come here. We talked when it was all in the process. I didn't fly up on July 1. I wanted him to come. Cubes had to film freaking Shark Tank. I just watched that for the first time the other night. I still didn't. I still refuse to watch it. It was actually not bad. I haven't seen one episode and I probably won't ever see one. Grantland

Dallas Mavericks, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj 

Bryant wasn't the only one of Howard's teammates to clamor for the All-Star center's return, however. "I think everyone has got to play through some pain in this league and I'm not sure where Dwight exactly with his [injury], but hopefully he's ready to come back soon," Steve Nash said. "I think it's inevitable he's going to feel some discomfort and pain." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard 

"People act like this is a Kobe issue and he's not the problem," an Eastern Conference exec said. "The problem is he's trying to do the work, at least on defense, of both guards. He's trying to guard the guy Nash needs to be guarding. And that doesn't allow the Lakers to play on a string defensively because you can't hide Nash. He's a defensive liability, same as he's been for years ... With the Lakers, his inability to deal with younger, more physical and more athletic point guards has been a huge issue." NBA.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash 

How much do you miss Steve Nash? Marcin Gortat: Oh, man. I miss him just like [a] human needs water, or air to breathe. He makes it happen. We all know he just makes everything happen. And there's probably nobody on this team who misses him more than me. Everybody wants to play with him. ESPN.com

Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash, Marcin Gortat 

Even before the 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers turned into one of the most disappointing teams in the modern history of the NBA, there were questions about just how quickly they'd be able to coalesce into a coherent unit (which, you know, hasn't happened yet). While the biggest issue in Lakers Nation has become the degree to which Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol can coexist, the earliest questions concerned how Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash would play together. Both players were used to handing the ball for long periods of time, and if they were going to be a success then one (or both) would need to change his style of play. Through 46 games, it seems abundantly clear that Nash has had to change far more than Bryant. Aside from a recent stretch in which he's been a stellar facilitator, Kobe has been the ball-dominating scorer he's always been. Nash, on the other hand, has rarely monopolized possessions as he did with the Suns, probing defenses with the dribble and creating passing lanes where none existed. Instead, he's been a secondary part of the offense. Yahoo! Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash 

Here we are in February and the Lakers aren't quite sure what to do with Nash. He finished Wednesday night's game with 11 points and just two assists. He missed his only shot attempt in the fourth quarter. Review the film and you'll see that not once did Nash penetrate into the paint with the ball during the final frame. In the new pseudo-triangle offense of the Lakers, Nash had been whittled down to just an anonymous spot-up shooter in the Derek Fisher mold. Even with an uptick in minutes per game, Nash has seen his numbers slide from 12.5 points and 10.7 assists last season to 11.5 points and 7.7 assists this season. That's a big chunk of Nash's offense that has evaporated into thin air. Nash shoots just 8.4 field goal attempts per game, which is on par with Boston Celtics defensive specialist Avery Bradley and half that of Philadelphia 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday. The thing is, Nash's shot is about as automatic as they come. He leads all point guards in true shooting percentage (.626) and is currently the only card-carrying member in the .500 FG/.400 3FG/.900 FT club other than Kevin Durant. The Lakers are essentially turning Ted Williams into a pinch hitter. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash 

Dave McMenamin: Bittersweet scene in LA locker room w/ Nash taking the time to sign a bunch of Suns memorabilia even though he's clearly mad about the loss Twitter @mcten

Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash 

Nash, perhaps the most popular Suns player ever, returns Wednesday night to the arena where he left to chants of "We want Steve" in April and where he left a two-time Most Valuable Player's imprints for eight years. "It's a very special place to me," Nash said. "I can't wait to get back and see everybody. So many great memories, great seasons and relationships that mean the world to me. I'm thrilled to come back and play. But in some respects, it'll be strange to not wear a Suns uniform." USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash 

Steve Nash strolled out into the hallway well before 11 p.m., on his way to the bus -- on his way to an emotional night in the city where he unveiled his unique brand of basketball artistry for so long. On his way to the loudest cheers in that arena since he left. "Standing ovation," teammate Kobe Bryant said, when asked to predict how Nash will be received in Phoenix on Wednesday night. "For sure. Without question." CBSSports.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash